ND RF Seat Lowering kits advice

Technical Area Body, Interior & Styling
1
  1. My model of MX-5 is: ND RF
  2. I’m based near: South Cheshire
  3. I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __ND RF Seat lowering kits

Just wondered if anyone here had any experience of buying and fitting a seat lowering kit for an ND2 RF, and if so if they could advise on a few things?

  1. How much does it lower the seat by approx?

  2. Which is the best kit and where to buy?

  3. Is it easy to fit DIY or is it a specialist/garage job?

  4. Does it count as a modification for insurance purposes? Does it affect or compromise seat security/safety in any way?

  5. Having done it, are you happy with the outcome etc?

  6. Did it require any special tools?

  7. Does everything fit straight out the box or did you have to mess around altering or changing things or does everything ‘line up’ etc?

Thanks in advance; any help much appreciated.

2

I fitted the Paco Motorsport seat lowering brackets which lower the seats by 1½". Reasonably easy to fit but you lose the instant adjustment. No problem for me as I’m the only driver. Insurance not a problem.

Jass performance also produce seat lowering brackets that lower the seat by 2" but again you lose the instant adjustment.

Blackbird Aurora also produce seat lowering brackets that retain the instant adjustment, but fitting is a little more involved.

FB_IMG_1648595465209
FB_IMG_1648595465209843×1491 138 KB

1 Like
3

I’ve got the Blackbird Fabworx / Aurora Auto Design ones fitted to mine. They retain the full seat movement but are considerably more expensive than the Paco Motorsport kit. The Aurora kit lowers by around 1.1", it is also worth noting the Aurora kit is not reversible as it involves making cuts to the original seat base, it is therefore a fairly involved job to fit (unlike the Paco kit). I went for the Aurora over the Paco as retaining full functionality of the seat was important to me (even though I’m the only driver).

I’m happy with the outcome, it made a huge difference for me being 6ft 2 with a long torso, I feel like I’m sitting in the car more as opposed to sitting on it. My head is more behind the windscreen and I also find the seat position better with the centre console effectively being higher for gear changes too.

It is a modification and as such should be declared to insurance, mine weren’t bothered by it but it will depend on who you are insured with. I was the RHD guinea pig for Aurora being the 1st RHD customer they had for the kit, so it was a bit more involved for me as I had to remove the seats before ordering and relay measurements back and forth to them before ordering the kit, it is a quality kit though and installs without issue once you’ve made the necessary cuts to the original seat base.

I’m located in St Asaph near Cheshire if you wanted to try before you buy (my car is now SORN though, but it would give you an idea). I know my head permanently touches the roof in a standard RF, so I know the kit for me would be a game changer if I chose to have an RF rather than my ST, as buying the RF simply wasn’t an option for me (fortunately I wanted the ST anyway).

1 Like
4

Hi Gareth, I have the Aurora kit but haven’t bitten the bullet yet knowing that it isn’t reversible.
Did you do the work yourself or did you get it done by a workshop, if so, who?

5

I did the work myself, it was somewhat daunting but once done it was worth it. Its just a case of taking your time and working through it, the instructions from Aurora are pretty good to be fair, I’ve seen much worse, but you will need an angle grinder.

6

Agreed, the instructions are very thorough, just need to commit to it I guess

7

Hi.
Yes i would recommend notifying your insurer of this type of change.
If you do have any issues then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

8

Thanks everyone; really useful and detailed info; just what I needed. Thanks for your time, explanations, and level of detail, much appreciated.

9

I have now two versions on slider rails - the one is pretty bolt on with a drop of nearly 50mm and the other ones goes 10mm lower. I had them available at the National Rally and some of you might have tested them already.

The fixed version is also available with the 56mm drop.